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Robben Island Lighthouse
South Africa
First-order Chance Brothers fixed (drum) lens with upper and lower refracting prisms and a four-wick Trinity House
burner. Total initial cost £7,127 8s 2d including the tower.
The burner was replaced in 1912 with a 3mm x 35mm burner and in 1921 by a Chance Brothers 110mm petroleum-vapour burner. In 1925 a Chance Brothers diaphone fog signal was installed. (This vicinity has about the same number of days of fog as the English Channel, i.e. 430 hours per year on average.) Chance Brothers upgraded this to a 216mm diaphone in 1938, which was replaced by an AGA electric fog signal in 1979. The shutter system was replaced in 1979 with a 1,500 Watt flashing incandescent light. This lighthouse is the only one on the South African coast which has an occulting character. A red sector covers the notorious Whale Rock.
| Manufacture Date | 1863 |
|---|---|
| Lighthouse Construction | 1865 |
| Country | South Africa |
| Lens Order | 1st order |
| Lens Type | Fixed |
| Status | publish |
| Light Character | The 46,000-candela beam, 1 flash, 7s interval. |
| Lighthouse Markings | White tower with red top. |
| Lighthouse Parts | Lens, original burner, foghorn (replaced with an AGA later). |
| Management Body Ports Authority | National Ports Authority |
| Preserver | Robben Island Museum http://www.robben-island.org.za/ |
| Coastal Erosion Vulnerability | |
| Open Status (Site) | Open |
| Open Status (Tower) | Closed |
| Coordinates | -33.8147045156,18.3739615792 |
| Other | ARLHS SAF-023; Admiralty D5870; NGA 113-25968. |
| Data Source | Chance Lighthouses (1856-1917) (61 years), David Encill's list 1856-316 |